"You were." She fixed on the platform floor. "You exceeded every metric he set. The synchronisation rate, the attachment depth, the mutual operational adaptation—"
"And now you're outside his parameters and he can't—"
A shot cracked through the station.
Tav moved instantly — not away from Evelyn but toward cover, pulling her with him by reflex as the shot sparked off the pillar directly behind her position.
"Alistair," he said into the earpiece.
"Three on the upper level," Alistair said immediately. "North and west approach. Moving to positions."
A pause. "Not Ablation movement."
"Same as the gala."
"Same pattern. Suppression and positioning."
Tav assessed: the platform offered minimal cover. The service corridor behind the platform ran toward the southern exit. The old utility areas below were structurally uncertain but passable.
"Evelyn." He watched her. "Service corridor behind you. Move."
She moved.
Tav covered the retreat, and from above he heard two precise shots from Alistair's position — covering fire, notelimination, designed to buy time — and the three-person approach on the upper level fragmented.
They reached the service corridor entrance as a second volley erupted across the platform.
Closer.
"Alistair," Tav said.
"Moving to intercept," Alistair said. "South catwalk."
"Stay visible to me."
"I always am."
The service corridor was darker than the platform, lit only by the degraded emergency lighting of a building that hadn't been maintained for years. Tav moved through it with Evelyn's hand on his jacket and her breathing controlled in the way of someone managing fear with professional technique.
"How many people does Cain have in the city?" Tav asked.
"Full strike team. Twelve minimum."
"He authorized the Final Directive this afternoon."
"I know."
"No, you don't—" She stopped as another shot echoed through the station. "He's not trying to separate you. He's trying to eliminate you. Both of you." She caught her breath. "The voluntary separation offer has been withdrawn."
Tav stopped.
In the corridor, in the dark, with distant shots and Alistair's earpiece breathing and the full weight of the situation pressing against every decision point at once.
"Why?" he asked.
"Because you have the drive," Evelyn said quietly. "Lucien's drive. Cain knows you have it. And if you have it and you're alive—"
"We're a liability regardless of whether we're together or apart," Tav said.
